Maybe he was talking about the following day.
The Serbian import scored 27 points and had 15 rebounds Sunday night in leading Al-Ittihad to an 83-75 upset of Duhok-Iraq to barge into the win column of the 2011 Fiba-Asia Champions Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
It was a great improvement in form for the Saudis, who took a 69-101 whipping at the hands of the Philippines’ Smart-Gilas National squad in the inaugurals on Saturday night.
Adil Al-Johani was also brilliant for the Saudis, connecting on six of 14 attempts from beyond three-point range to finish with 21 points and complete a double-sided razor blade that cut down the Iraqis to size.
Next up for Ittihad is another formidable foe in ASU-Jordan at 2 p.m. Monday.
The Iraqis held the lead for the last time at 43-42 before the sweet-shooting Al-Johani made a three-pointer with 7:25 left in the third quarter that put the Saudis ahead to stay.
“There is a lot of motivation in our players as this championship really means a lot to us,” said Saudi coach Ninad Krazdic.
Dragajlovic scored just 18 points and was muscled around inside the paint in the loss to the Filipinos before making a statement after the game that he thinks that his team is bound to improve in the latter stages of the tournament.
His performance Sunday night made sure of that.
Meanwhile, the Philippines recovered from a first half charge by the Westports KL Dragons to beat the Malaysians, 95-64, and roll to its second straight win later in the day.
Chris Lutz, JV Casio and Asi Taulava provided the spark for the Nationals in the third quarter as the Filipinos outscored the Dragons in the period, 26-9, for a 65-49 lead entering the fourth.
Lutz had 10 points like Casio, while Taulava amassed 12 rebounds and provided the hustle plays underneath in that deciding blitzkrieg.
It did not come easy for the Filipinos with the Malaysians showing vast improvement of late under the guidance of Filipino coach Ariel Vanguardia. The Dragons were within striking distance and even led, 40-39, at the half.
National coach Rajko Toroman admits that they have not scouted the Dragons for this tournament.
“We didn’t know the team and we didn’t know their imports. But in the second half, we are able to take advantage of their turnovers,” said Toroman.
American import Chris Ayer, who had 15 of his 31 points in the first half, made a jumper to start off the third period.
But Smart Gilas went on a rampage by scoring 20 unanswered points to gain the lead for good against their Southeast Asian neighbors.
Vanguardia credited his team for the Dragons’ effort.
“This is a good opportunity for us to face the best club teams in Asia and I’m happy with our performance,” said Vanguardia, a former JRU mentor.
The Philippines takes a break Monday and will return to action against Duhok-Iraq on Tuesday.
